Many lasers operate predominately or only as pulsed sources and the pulse duration is determined by the duration of effective pumping, intra-resonator energy extraction rates, etc. However, in certain applications where pulsed lasers are utilized it is necessary to extend the duration of the pulsed laser beam without reducing the pulse energy. The duration of the pulsed laser beam can be increased by using a laser pulse stretcher which stretches the laser pulses temporally. The stretching or lengthening of the temporal pulse width of the laser beam has many applications in the area of laser energy management. For example, one benefit of the increase in pulse length is a decrease in the peak power of a pulsed laser beam which can effectively reduce the laser induced material damage on optical components. A new laser pulse stretching unit and method for using the same are the subject of the present invention.